Perfect Pitch: McCracken Band set for Prestigious Performance
Skokie Review – December 12, 2013
by Mike Isaacs
A funny thing happened to McCracken Middle School Band Director Chip De
Stefano on his way to a career teaching music at a high school or college.
“Before I student-taught here, I had no intention of teaching middle school,” he admitted. “For me in my mind, it was high school
all the way. I would get my doctorate and teach college.”
Let’s now preface that any similarity with what happened next and to “Mr. Holland’s Opus” is strictly coincidental. But like that
film’s title character, De Stefano, 41, learned that middle school wasn’t just part of a journey bu destination.
“I loved it here,” he said. “And not just here, I loved the age group.”
This month, for the second time in seven years, McCracken! Symphonic Band under De Stefano will perform at the Midwest Clinic. Although the event is held at Chicago’s McCormick Place, it’s an international happening with only four middle school bands performing.
Two of them are from Texas, one from Indiana and then there’s the 55-member McCracken band.
If the title Midwest Clinic doesn’t sound particularly sexy, the event itself is as prestigious as it comes to those in the know. De Stefano has accomplished much with his bands including four times being selected as “Honor Band” at the University of Illinois
Superstate Concert Band Festival. But being selected for a Midwest Clinic performance is a world all its own, he said.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time.” De Stefano said in 2006 when the band was first chosen. “In some ways, it’s affirmation that I’m doing a good job, and I have to admit some of it is an ego thing. The only thing that could match this in my career is another invitation in the future.”
That mission has now been accomplished.
De Stefano Career
McCracken is the only workplace as a music teacher that De Stefano has known. After graduating from Northwestern University, he student taught under Don Stahlberg who was band director there for 33 years.
Stahlberg convinced De Stefano to apply for the job and now he in his 18th year, having carved out quite a name for McCracken’s
Symphonic Band along the way. De Stefano credits high expectations in the classroom and a “culture of respect” at McCracken for
setting the stage for such success. And he came to recognize that music is a key asset for kids at the junior high age.
“Music is another way for the kids to know their world, particularly for the middle-age kid where communication in general can be tough,” he said. “They’re often at awkward stages in their lives physically and socially, and emotionally music makes it very easy to communicate those feelings that are very difficult to put into words. For a lot of the kids, that’s a very important aspect of their growth as people.”
McCracken’ Symphonic Band will perform a 45-minute concert Dec. 18 at the Midwest Clinic preceded by a rehearsal concert Dec. 12 at Pick-Steiger Concert Hall in Evanston.
The application process for the Midwest Clinic is detailed, calling for an audio recording, a video tape, three recommendations from prominent directors, a list of students in the band, photographs and biographies of the band director and the band for the last two years.
The music for the application was recorded in February, which means eighth graders who were part of that process will not play at the Midwest Clinic because they graduated. De Stefano said that choosing the right music to turn in is always essential.
“The band has to be very good but you have to get a little bit lucky, too,” he said. “You have to pick the absolute perfect pieces for the band. You have to have one of the three or four best recordings that get submitted.”
Students may not even recognize the full extent of the honor they achieved, De Stefano said. But eighth-grader Karen Wallace, 14, a percussionist, gets it; she lights up with a smile when you even mention the Midwest Clinic.
“It’s really exciting because it’s such a big deal,” she said. “Being part of the band that made the tape and then getting to perform
really special.” Wallace noted that before McCracken went to Midwest in 2006, no Illinois band had performed there for 20 years.
“To make it and then make it seven years later shows that we’re consistently a really good band,” she said.
Seventh-grade trombone player Peter Sahyouni, 12, calls the achievement “amazing.”
“I like band a lot more this year than I did last year,” he said.
“There’s more pressure this year and I like that. I was definitely not as good last year. It just feels like I earned it more this year.”
Sixth-grade percussion player Rebecca Aisenberg, 11, called the achievement “kind of shocking” especially since it has come in her
first year in the Symphonic Band. “Once I found out about it, I got more excited and wanted to practice more and play all the pieces in Midwest,” she said. “I really love pieces that are modern and kind of new and funky. They’re a lot of fun to play.”
Eighth-grader Luke Dorais, 13, an alto saxophone player, considers Midwest a great honor that he was not expecting.
“I was very surprised,” he said. “Mr. De Stefano and everyone were so excited. I can’t wait for our performance. I think we’re going to do great.”
Seventh-grade trumpet player Stephen Decker, 13, is the second family member to attend the Midwest Clinic. His older sister went to Midwest the first time when Decker was only a pre-kindergartner.
“I don’t remember much,” he said. “She’s told me it’s a lot of hard work and that your mouth will be very tired at the end. She said you’re a little nervous, but when you start playing, you feel excited to be part of the band.”
All of these and other band students said that De Stefano has a special way of motivating them of having them want to play better
and to try harder. He has brought them and those before them to the top of the mountain twice, which begs the question of what’s
next for De Stefano and current and future generations of student musicians.
“I’m always looking to raise the standard and get the performance level even higher,” he said. “I always want to find ways to do it more efficiently and to develop a more systematic way for the kids to get to a greater level of performance.”
For De Stefano, the concert is never over because there’s always a higher note to hit.